Barrie Fire crews were on the scene to lend a hand — and a couple of ropes — during a rescue of a man in an underground pit south of the city, Tuesday afternoon.
Adjala-Tosorontio Fire Department were called to an incident in the municipality, located about 40 minutes south of Barrie, and requested the help of the Barrie Fire and Emergency Service's technical rescue team.
Barrie Fire Chief Cory Mainprize explained that the team provides technical rescue services to a number of nearby municipalities, including Adjala-Tosorontio.
“If the situation is above and beyond their scope of training or resources, we respond through a contract to provide services to them. They are still in charge of the incident,” he said.
Barrie Fire received the call to help extricate a patient who had fallen into a large well inside the building, which Mainprize said is still under construction, around noon on Jan. 23.
“I think it's a wastewater or industrial building,” he said, adding the patient was found at the bottom of a “large, very deep pit of approximately 30 feet."
Great work today by our @Barrie_Fire @BarriePFFA team today who assisted one our neighbouring municipalities with a technical rescue incident to remove an injured worker who had fallen and was trapped 30 feet below grade. Always proud! pic.twitter.com/FmGnC2m1ub
— Cory Mainprize (@MainprizeCory) January 23, 2024
“The patient was working in the pit and had fallen and was injured,” said Mainprize.
Firefighters from Adjala-Tosorontio had already set up some ladders and had staff lowered into the pit to assist the patient when Barrie crews arrived, he noted.
Other news outlets have reported that the 50-year-old man was conscious and alert when transported to hospital by ambulance with unknown injuries.
“We had to package the patient into a stretcher where we can lift them up and out of the hole … and then transfer care to EMS to be transported to hospital,” said Mainprize.
A specially trained group of firefighters — well versed in high-angle rescue — attended the incident and used a system of ropes and pulleys to hoist the man out of the hole.
“There was an overhead anchor point so we’d either utilize something on scene or make our own with some of our specialized equipment. Using a ropes, anchors and pulley system to provide a mechanical advantage we’d create a haul system to lift the patient vertically and then get them ground level,” Mainprize said.
Crews were on the scene for about 90 minutes, he added.
This particular rescue, Mainprize told BradfordToday and InnisfilToday, would not have been considered particularly high risk. But like in all situations, all precautions are taken.
“There are always a lot of factors that can make a call complex," he said. "Site access was good — it was a large building so there was lots of space. It was not super complex compared to some types of situations. It was a straight vertical lift.
"When you start moving people horizontally, or lowering people it can be a little bit more complex,” the chief added. “It was still very technical, but certainly well within the scope of what we train and practice for."
A request to Adjala-Tosorontio Fire Department officials for additional information on the incident was not returned by the time this article was published.
